COLUMBUS - Seven players scored in double-figures as the Columbus State University men's basketball team cruised to a 93-62 victory over the University of North Georgia on Wednesday. The Peach Belt Conference contest took place inside the Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center.
After trailing early, CSU (2-3, 2-3 PBC) roared ahead and never looked back. The Cougars lead by 26, 46-20, at the break before eventually taking a game-high 43-point advantage late in the second half.
"We had hot shooters tonight," commented Robert Moore. "Give credit to our guys for capitalizing on the chances and feeding off each other momentum. We need to keep this up for Saturday."
| How It Happened |
| First Half |
North Georgia's (1-4, 1-3) lead only once in the game, and it was early on in the opening half. Down 6-4, a successful three-point play by Kody Shubert put the Nighthawks on top with 14:34 on the clock before another bucket made it a 9-4 game. Columbus State answered on the next trip down the floor thanks to an Anthony Moore layup, which jumpstarted an 11-0 Cougar run breaking the game open. The spurt was extended to 16-2 after a Davion Thomas added five more points for CSU to help move the Cougars in front 23-11 midway through the half. The points kept coming with Columbus State rattling off 12 consecutive points, closed out by another Thomas 3-pointer, to put the Cougars head 41-16.
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| Second Half |
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Back-to-back 3-pointers from Christian Chambers gave Columbus State a 55-24 lead less than four minutes into the second. UNG wouldn't get within 25 points from the lead the rest of the night with the Cougars putting the final exclamation point on the victory with a 19-3 run that ballooned the lead to 83-41 with 6:12 to play.
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| Box Score Breakdown |
• Thomas lead Columbus State with 13 points, going 3-for-4 from downtown.
• Lorenzo Anderson (12 pts.), Moore (11 pts.), Devan Porter-Wilson (11 pts.), Hunter Preston (10 pts.), Chambers (10 pts.) and Lederrius Jones (10 pts.) were the other Cougars in double figures.
• Moore posted his first double-double this year after grabbing 11 rebounds.
• After being down 9-6 in the first, CSU outscored UNG 40-11 over the final 14 minutes of the half.
• CSU won the rebounding margin 47-26.
• Columbus State shot 60% (15-for-25) from 3-point range. |
| Cougar Notes |
• Columbus State set season highs in points (93), 3-pointers (15) and field goal percentage (51.5%).
• The Cougars now lead the all-time series 26-15 over the Nighthawks.
• The 37-point win for the Cougars is the largest for CSU since Dec. 2, 2017. |
| Up Next |
| Columbus State will travel to Aiken, S.C. on Saturday, Jan. 23 for another PBC matchup against USC Aiken (4-2, 3-1 PBC). Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be no fan attendance at Saturday's game. |
